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Their colors are red and black and they are in the Southwestern 3A/2A baseball league. They play baseball in Rutherford County. This year the East Rutherford High School Cavaliers Baseball team won their fifth, 2A North Carolina State Championship! That's right, fifth! When it comes to championship baseball, our East Rutherford Cavaliers are a perennial. They finished the 2010 season ranked #1 in Impact Baseball's High School poll. Their recent championship achievement was accomplished in just two straight games. The championship being decided in a best two out of three series. Athletic Director and Baseball Coach is Bobby Reynolds. Our Cavaliers have played in the finals six times since 2002 and claimed the championship in '02, 03, '04, '07 and now 2010! The coach of all five championship teams is the Cavaliers 'five star' leader- Coach Bobby Reynolds. That's quite a claim to fame!
It happened at the 94th annual North Carolina High School Athletic Association state baseball championship series. The games were played at Doak Field on the campus of North Carolina State University. East Rutherford entered this years games sporting a 28-2 record. They played Graham (20-11) for the championship. In the first game, pitcher Drew Reynolds threw ten strikeouts in a runaway win with the final score being 7-3. Dakota Thomas set the tone in the fourth inning with a three run homer to make the score 5-2. That home run had to be a depressing moment for Graham.
In the second game Cavalier right-hander Dakota Thomas went the distance. He struck out 15 and put down the Graham rally in the seventh inning. East Rutherford came away with another jewel to put in its' championship crown by a score of 4-3.
Drew Reynolds was named Most Valuable Player of the series. The final tally for the season was an impressive record of 30-2. The Cavs won their last 17 games.
When it comes to baseball year after year, the East Rutherford Cavaliers set the pace in Rutherford County. When we all think of champions, the first thing that comes to mind is those great Cavaliers! It is because of them and now the Forest City Owls, we should claim that Rutherford County is America's Baseball County! Champions seems to be our middle name. Let us not forget the American Legion baseball team. They are "burning up the schedule" also. While tossing out accolades, we must include Forest City Little League and the amazing players that program produces under the leadership of Marion Mayes.
It must be the air, or better, perhaps the mills that once dominated our turf. Back then aside from going to a movie on Saturday night, the entertainment of choice was baseball. No wonder Smokey Burgess and his likes came from Rutherford County. We're the county of baseball champions.
Pride and bragging rights go beyond our area and now the crack of the bats from Rutherford County can be heard all over America!
We congratulate Coach Bobby Reynolds and his 2010 award winning East Rutherford Cavaliers Championship team. Keep it up and let's go for a half dozen!
